Chesterfield man still getting charged by bank - two years after he died

Dan Hayes

A Chesterfield man who died two years ago is still having £15 taken out of his bank account every month.

David Catlin died aged 74 on April, 24 2015 in a single room in Spital he had rented for the last 16 years.

We have well established policies and procedures where bereavement is concerned.

Halifax spokesperson

As David had no family of which anyone knew, landlord, Richard Favell, had to deal with his affairs himself.

However, for the last two years, Richard says he has been unable to stop money being taken from David’s bank account.

He said: “When David died he had £1,174.65 in his Halifax account but that has now come down to just over £600.

“I found out there were three charges that were coming out of his account totalling £33.

“He was paying £10 to Orange a month and £8 to the homeless charity Shelter.

“In the end they both stopped but the bank are still taking £15 out of his account every month.

“They keep on saying they need a death certificate to stop the charges but I was just his landlord.”

Richard says he has since found out David had two nieces in London and two daughters in Australia - but that ‘no one wants to know’.

The landlord says he keeps on sending all the bank letters back return to sender but they ‘just keep coming’.

“They even sent him a new credit card a while ago,” he says.

After David died, a pauper’s funeral was arranged for him at Boythorpe Cemetery in Chesterfield.

Richard and his wife both attended, along with a someone from a local funeral home, who said a few words.

However, Richard now thinks that - had the money come to light earlier - some of it could have been used to pay for a funeral.

Failing that, it could have even gone to the homeless charity Shelter, which David clearly cared about during his life.

A spokesman for Halifax said they are unable to comment on specific cases but in the case of bereavement, it is the role of the beneficiaries or executor of the will, to notify the bank and provide the required documentation.

He added: “We have well established policies and procedures where bereavement is concerned, including who can notify us and act on behalf of a customer. “This ensures fair customer treatment and that any assets belonging to deceased customers are correctly disbursed or appropriately protected.”